Other developments in Europe and beyond

#EuropeWeWant : EU institutions and civil society looking at the future of Europe.

On 25 March, the EU celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. For this occasion, the EU institutions and civil society, reflected on the future of Europe, also in light of the recent developments such as Brexit.

On 1 March 2017, the European Commission presented a White Paper on the Future of Europe, which forms the Commission’s contribution to the Rome Summit of 25 March 2017. The White Paper sets out the main challenges and opportunities for Europe in the coming decade. It presents five scenarios for how the Union could evolve by 2025 depending on how it chooses to respond. The White paper includes “making the most of the new opportunities whilst mitigating any negative impact will require a massive investment in skills and a major rethink of education and lifelong learning systems”.

At the meeting of the LLL Interest Group on 21 March in the European Parliament the discussion focused on “Principles of Inclusiveness for Improved and Modernised Education”, based on the Maltese Presidency Council conclusions presented by Mr. Micaleff Grimaud (PermRep) and the European Commissions’ Communication on “Improving and Modernising Education” presented by Fiorella Perotto, DG EAC. Discussants highlighted the importance of more EU Member State commitment and better cooperation with civil society organisations, namely regarding the value and cost-efficiency of the non-formal and informal learning opportunities. You can read the report here: LLLIG_Report_Meeting 21 March_Inclusive Education

New initiative for school students to travel abroad

The European Commission has proposed a new initiative to allow school students moire frequent travels abroad. The newly-launched initiative is called “Move2Learn, Learn2Move” and is said to fund the travel of at least 5,000 young people to other EU countries. The one-off initiative is open to young people attending schools taking part in eTwinning, the online learning community for teachers in Europe. The young people must be aged 16 to 19 and the modes of transport used must be environmentally friendly.

European Parliament critically looking into EU funding to NGOs

MEP Markus Pieper, EPP (CDU), recently presented an own-initiative report according to which the European Commission should stop funding NGOs that oppose the EU’s “strategic commercial and security objectives”. This opinion has raised a huge buzz, together with harsh reactions from the much varied world of non-governmental organisations and civil society associations. The European Youth Forum and the Lifelong Learning Platform are closely following this file.

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European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL) contributes to peace and justice in a diverse world threatened by inequity and intolerance, by promoting intercultural understanding and sensitivity among European and other countries, organisations and citizens, hereby endorsing the ends of AFS Intercultural Programs.